ALONE

 A series of essays.....

Love, Laugh and Live for Today!

.....as seen through my eyes!



By: Jacqueline E. Hughes


As the old adage suggests and its truth has no boundaries,
we come into this world alone and leave it in the very same manner.....

"We enter the world alone, we leave the world alone," is a quote by the English writer and historian, James Anthony Froude in the mid 1800's.

Orson Welles added his own spin when he said, "We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone."

Variations on a theme.

Waking-up each morning for the past several weeks, I have been haunted by these thoughts. Closing my eyes at night, tucking my pillow firmly beneath my neck and curling-up in the fetal position, I am haunted by these thoughts.

Why?

I tell myself I am not alone.....  The joyful birds are singing as I open my eyes! Their  sweet music carries me through my simple morning routines. My first sip of coffee tastes much sweeter because of my backyard concert.

I am not alone..... The lively conversation between husband and wife of a gentle, spring evening clings to me like a second skin. Plotting-out, planning and dreaming of a time closer to our grandchildren.

Or, am I?

The realization strikes me as if it were a hammer atop my head....I am successfully 'creating the illusion' that best fits within my life's mold. I see the fine line between 'actual' and 'contrived.' It divides my thoughts like a gossamer web stretching between two solid objects. 

"Only through our love and friendship......."

I have no control. The pieces float along the gentle breeze and match one shape into another adapted for accuracy and exactness. We are instruments of the grand illusion...in the moment.

On the outside.

Ahhh....Alone!

We remain individual thinkers, dreamers, artists and imagineers of our own world. Alone, I see the color blue. Alone, you see the color gold. Alone, I am bombarded and assailed by words and phrases. Alone, you create beauty from stone and mortar.

To be able to differentiate between good and evil, we are alone when we choose love over hatred or, to stand alone or follow the masses or, to employ 'common sense' or become a loose cannon....causing damage to this beautiful planet and the people we share it with.

Do we believe in feminism or, do we crush equality between men and woman like so many generations of organized religions and cultures have before us?

Will honest souls prevail and black-hearted souls be crushed by their own cowardly deeds?

When I sit upon the edge of my bed in the cool darkness of the morning and chant "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You to my God in appreciation for so many things.....I know my words are heard.

These are my current thoughts. This is what I feel and know and question as I navigate this world....alone.

I think I now know what has been eating at my soul lately and I am so grateful for writing down these words that have served to show me some understanding.

Thanks, also, to you both, James and Orson.

Simply, Self-Love.

Vironika Tugaleva, an inspirational speaker and healing coach from the Ukraine, sums it up for me by saying, "The greatest tool of self-love is self-awareness. Once you truly know yourself, love is the only option."

If love and friendship creates the illusion, for the moment, that we are not alone, then we must learn to be our own best friend and love ourselves with the passion and grace that we would afford to every living soul around us. We are all in this game of life together.

In conclusion:
We are alone with our thoughts and our ideas. We create a glass-domed world around us....to protect our thoughts and ideas. But, we must watch our own thoughts constantly because they will become the words of people we draw to ourselves.

Love...Laugh...Live today! Tomorrow we will leave this world, alone. I can only hope and pray that all of us make the best choices for everyone in the meantime.....!!





Savor the Beauty Around Us

Copyright © 2015 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved